But there was one doll series I DID like and that was the Kamen Rider series released by toy company POPY. Back then the dolls were ubiquitous in Hawaii and everyone had one or two of them. The dolls came individually or in sets and I clearly remember seeing the set of 6 of them on the shelves. In fact, it was here that I (as well as some of my friends) first saw Amazon Rider, and later, in an updated set, Kamen Rider Stronger!
I’ve always had a sentimental attachment to these dolls but out of all of them, the Kamen Rider X doll was the only one to survive my childhood. It was beat up to hell and stained brownish (from playing in the yard) but I wouldn’t trade it for anything!
Over the years, my friend Jas has managed to purchase most of his beloved toys from his childhood via online sellers and dealers at Collector shows, and when I mentioned to him how I wouldn’t mind getting back some of my old Popy dolls, he said he’d look of for them on the auction sites, and if they were decently priced, he’d let me know.
He managed to locate for me a well-worn copy of both Kamen Rider V3 and one of that striking Amazon Rider doll, and they looked so great on the shelf next to my X-Rider! He then told me he had a dealer selling two copies of the Rider-Man doll, and when it came in, he gave me one free of charge!
I gratefully accepted it, but I found my first discrepancy when I placed it on my shelf. Standing next to the others, the Rider-Man doll just looked…wrong. He was shorter than the rest, thinner in design and oddly colored. “I don’t think this Doll is from the original Popy Set.” I said, and Jas said he wasn’t sure, but agreed that it didn’t quite match the others.
With only Kamen Rider One and Two to get, Jas went back to the auction sites, and it was then he really started to notice how much the sizes of the dolls seemed to VARY! Some seemed smaller, some seemed bigger! Some figures arms looked wrong and the fists were off. sending me pics to the dolls, he finally admitted, “These all look different from the ones you have...Sh*t, I don't know what's WHAT anymore!"
Sadly, we still don’t know! And the hardest thing is that unless we can see them next to the other dolls, we won’t know if them ‘match” the ones we have until we can place them physically side by side!
